Mathematics education is replete with activities that explore real-world problems. A variety of these problems are added to lessons in the belief that merely applying mathematics knowledge to everyday contexts will enhance the transfer of that knowledge to other settings. However, these contexts are hypothetical rather than authentic. This distinction may be important for creating classroom tasks that have a greater likelihood of helping students develop mathematics knowledge and skills that can be used effectively beyond the classroom. Quantitative literacy (QL) is also an important part of mathematics education. QL holds that what people need most in their everyday and work lives is fundamental mathematics knowledge that is applied in varied and complex contexts requiring common-sense reasoning. QL means considering hard facts and going beyond the data. In this article, the authors describe two quantitative literacy lessons in which students examine popular songs and movies to find patterns and trends. The lesson involving songs was taught to a fifth-grade class; the lesson on movies, to a sixth-grade class. Both tasks were also completed by a graduate-level teacher education class on mathematical problem solving. (Contains 2 figures.)